13 Shocking Facts They Never Told You About the Austin A30 & A35

Comments · 621

• MI

  @MichaelAddlesee · 9 months ago

  Whoever put this video together didn't even bother showing the right car on screen to match the dialog.

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• SA

  @saxon-mt5by · 9 months ago

  'Wood trim along the sides and split rear doors'? That sounds more like a Morris Minor Traveller than an Austin A30 Countryman!

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• AN

  @anthonyhegarty7717 · 9 months ago

  I have many fond memories of my dad including the time he decided to rebuild the engine of an Austin A30 which my older brother had bought while his real car was in for extensive repair after a particularly bad accident. The engine had blown after several weeks of driving; it was a “beater” after-all. My dad had absolutely NO experience in rebuilding engines, NONE. He enlisted my help at the age of 12 or 13. There were many stories about our endeavors, too many for here but I have one that I want to share with you. <br>Not to get too technical, but one of the latter tasks was to replace the flywheel ring. This involves expanding the ring placing it on the flywheel and then letting it contract to be a secure fit. But how to expand the ring in a uniform fashion so as not to warp it. You normally expand it in very hot oil in a special receptacle which we did not have. Dad had a brilliant idea, let’s fill a roast pan with motor oil and put it in the kitchen oven at the highest temperature possible. Sounds like a plan, and it did work but had a problematic side effect. Very soon after reaching the desired temperature the oil began to smoke, a little at first, then it filled the kitchen. We were able to fit the ring; however, the oven was a disaster and the kitchen not much better. My mother was furious demanding that dad buy her a new oven and repaint the kitchen, the latter I helped with. <br>The engine rebuild was successfully completed. The car was intended to be my mother’s but even after 4 attempts she could not pass the driving test, so we ended up selling it. This trait of fixing one thing while destroying another, lives on in my father’s son, I might add.

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• JO

  @JohnGlyde-q8q · 1 month ago

  I drove an A35 to Venice and back in the early 60s the only problem we had was stopping to admire the view on Swiss mountain and had a vapour lock in the mechanical fuel pump a motorist stopped and poured petrol into the carburetor which enabled us to restart and said don’t stop until you are going down the other side. Have wonderful memories of both my A30 and my girl friends A35. Have recently seen an A30 in both Madeira and Cuba.

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• LU

  @Lurgansahib · 9 months ago

  My very first car, A30 purchased second hand in 1967 Wellington New Zealand. It had been purchased new in UK then shipped to NZ, The owner had been meticulous with care and maintainance, it had lived all its life in a garage so it was in immaculate condition inside and out. Two modifications had been done, the traffic indicators had been faired over and a electric traffic blinker system installed followed by the A30 engine block had been changed to the A35 block which made a substantial difference to the performance. I was so proud of that little car and it served me well for a number of years, I just loved it, for the first time in my life I was independant!

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• GE

  @geofsharp658 · 1 month ago

  When my friend passed away as executor of his will I had the task of letting his A35 go to a good home. It had been stored in his garage for 50years. It was purchased by a gentleman called Ryan. He has renovated the car to pristine ‘prize winning condition. He has named the car Denis in memory of my friend the original owner, Denis Knowles. There is a video of the collection from his garage. ‘A35 Denis’ posted by Geof

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• 3G

  @3GreeneBJ · 8 months ago

  I passed my Test in one of these in 1961 after only six 1hr lessons. Just as well as I had no money for more. It wasn&apos;t my car - it belonged to the driving school. That was a real deal for me and set me on the road to relative success. I can still remember parts of that test vividly - so fired up I must have been. Yet some of that needs to be hidden from the Tester. I was informed that the Tester I had would never pass anyone - but he did. The instructor gave me fantastic Test passing tips which I have since passed on to others and they ALL passed. That though, was then. Driving today is a veritable nightmare and I take my hat off to all those who cope with it so well.

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• JA

  @James-KL · 8 months ago

  Iconic memories from Livingstone Zambia ! where our wonderful geography teacher at our boarding school owned a black A30—we deliberately piled in 13 of us school boys and girls (around 12 years old) including the driver teacher into this remarkable car, to take us back from church Sunday School, down in the town centre, back up the hill to the boarding school—but needing to take a much longer route with a more gentle slope around the town so the car would actually be able to get back up to the school. A lifetime memory of the A30!

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• BR

  @brianperrie3960 · 9 months ago

  My first car was the A30 which I bought for £5 in 1968. It was built in 1955 and I was the second owner. My brother and I put in Morris Gold Seal 1000 cc engine and an A35 prop shaft and gearbox. It could move. This year I checked and the car is still around near Dundee.

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• MI

  @mickeyfilmer5551 · 9 months ago

  My Grandfather had an Austin A30 van and two Austin pick-ups for his milk round. I remember him changing the A30 Van for the new Ford Anglia saloon as he was nearing retirement and was looking to sell the then lucrative milkrounds he had built up swince before the war- he was too young for the fist world war and too old for the second, having been born inFeruary 1900. I loved going ouy with him during scool holidays- getting up at 4am was a real adventure for a six year old.

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• OL

  @oldsteve4291 · 8 months ago

  In 1965 my dad bought an A30 for £10. &nbsp;The driver&apos;s door was welded shut, it had holes in the floor &nbsp;and someone had stuck beer mats all over the inside of the roof, but after some work, probably involving a lot of chicken wire and P38, dad drove us, us being mom, dad and 3 kids, from Birmingham to Glasgow, to visit an old RAF mate and his family. &nbsp;I have no idea how long the 300 mile journey took, because I was only 4 and slept most of the time.

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• 69

  @69JackFlash · 7 months ago

  A black A30 was my dad&apos;s first car, in about 1959 or 1960. Some great memories of travelling around as a family, holidays to Morecambe, Weston-super-Mare and Scarborough, even (just) getting up those very steep hills in the Yorkshire Moors. First gear job several times. We didn&apos;t even notice that it was not very speedy or stylish. It got us there. I still remember the number plate, as well as my uncle&apos;s A35. Happy days!

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